Certainly one of lately, rise earlier than Mumbai rubs its eyes awake, and take a stroll across the city. Let the aroma of freshly baking bread and buns function your GPS, as you navigate the town’s bakery map. Watch as essentially the most humble components are remodeled into pure culinary pleasure — suppose patties, puffs, khari (flaky pastry) puffs and the likes.
As for which bakeries to move to, listed below are a couple of chef picks.
1. Maska Bakery
The menu at Maska Bakery revives each imaginary and culinary palates. Each merchandise is valuable, however F&B author Nikhil Service provider calls the ‘Kejriwal Babka’ the poster little one of the menu. “It’s a stroke of genius. It folds Mumbai’s iconic (but considerably lesser-known) ‘Eggs Kejriwal’ right into a superbly layered loaf.”
The dish’s flavours are brazen, Nikhil’s description of it proves, “The bread is infused with the quintessential chutney discovered at Mumbai’s road distributors, made with Bhavnagari chillies, a smattering of cheese, and layers of butter meticulously folded into the dough earlier than being baked to a golden brown. Frivolously toasted and topped with a fried egg, it’s a straight ticket to nostalgic heaven.”
2. Metropolis Bakery
In keeping with stories, the roll name of company at this pre-Independence bakery contains distinguished names like Asha Bhosle and Anil Ambani. What began its life as a humble shack in 1945 pushed the envelope with its shezwan rolls and walnut brownies, hanging a chord with the town.
The flour mill at Metropolis Bakery begins churning as early as 4 am, and if you wish to catch the pao (bread) scorching and recent, make sure you’re early.
Sanket Shekhar Joshi, government chef, Avatara, Mumbai, identifies himself as a hardcore fan of the cheese croissants right here.
“As a toddler, early mornings meant visits to the temple close to Crawford Market. On the best way, we handed by Metropolis Bakery in Worli, which opened round 5 am. The aroma of freshly baked cheese croissants was irresistible, they have been served straight from the oven, heat and flaky. It stays certainly one of my fondest meals recollections,” he reminisces.
3. Paris Bakery
At this whimsical Marine Traces bakery, you’ll be able to style heaven on a shoestring finances. We’re referring to the coveted milk buns, which make a uncommon cameo on the menu. The buns are made with condensed milk and raisins, and retail for round Rs 25.
The bakery’s historical past dates again to 1985 when it earned a reputation for itself within the neighbourhood with its cashew macarons and cake toast. As the present proprietor, Danish Nejadkay shared in certainly one of his interviews, “Paris Bakery was began by a Parsi household in 1955. My father entered right into a partnership with them in 1963.”
By the years, they’ve remained fastidious to their recipes. Whereas the milk buns take pleasure in their second within the solar, the khari biscuits and Shrewsbury cookies, too, are unbelievable, says chef Amandeep Singh, government sous chef, The Westin Mumbai Backyard Metropolis. “The aroma of freshly baked meals right here is irresistible. It’s a spot the place simplicity meets custom, and each chunk appears like a tribute to Mumbai’s Parsi heritage,” he shares.
4. New Persian Bakery
The previous and current reside aspect by aspect at this storied bakery in Mumbai’s Dadar. Since 1934, when the household began it, after emigrating from Persia, they’ve tried to construct a enterprise hinged on authenticity, and their menu has held its sway over the town’s meals selections.
From all of the gadgets, it’s the eggless mawa cake and eggless nankathai (Indian shortbread cookies) that enchantment to chef Sourabh Das. For him, the cookies evoke nostalgia. “These have been the primary baked goodies my mom fed me. Even my first birthday cake was ready by them.” He provides that the nankathai turned his first lesson in baking throughout culinary faculty.
5. The Bread Bar
Chef Sushil Multani loves himself an idyllic morning along with his youngsters at The Bread Bar in Chembur. His order is normally fixed: almond croissants and quiches. Bread Bar is the brainchild of chef Rachi Gupta, who educated on the École Nationale Supérieure de la Patisserie in France.
Following a slew of internships in Europe, she returned to India to ascertain The Gelato Bar and The Bread Bar. A menu cult traditional right here is the Turkish eggs.
6. Yazdani Bakery
Yazdani Bakery gained a spot in Mumbai’s reminiscence across the Nineteen Fifties, when Merwan Zend acquired a share in an Iranian restaurant (on the very spot Yazdani now stands).
Historical past is reconceived within the decor by means of the classic posters and household images. Whereas the enduring mawa cake is touted as vital, the menu is laden with flavourful classics. Chef Amandeep loves the brun maska (buttered hard-crusted bread) and apple pie.
He indulges in recollections linked to those, “The brun maska, crusty on the skin and delicate inside, paired with Irani chai, is nothing in need of a ritual. Their apple pie, baked in a country, homely trend, is the closest Mumbai will get to an genuine, no-frills European-style pie. I nonetheless keep in mind the primary chunk—it tasted like nostalgia, served with a beneficiant sprinkle of cinnamon.”
7. American Categorical Bakery
The 117-year-old bakery’s identify was borrowed from its fast supply providers to American cruise ships. Its menu is decked with classics just like the bread pudding, cream rolls, scorching cross buns, and mango pots de crème.
Meals connoisseur Kunal Vijayakar lauds it for its ingenious tackle snacks and desserts. He has fond recollections of feasting on the bakery’s hen and mutton patties along with his grandfather when he was a toddler. “They haven’t modified,” he says in his video go to to the place. However what tugged at Kunal’s heartstrings was the lemon Swiss roll. “Making sponge is not only an artwork, it’s a science,” he factors out, as he feasts on the cream-filled sugary roll.
Edited by Vidya Gowri Venkatesh
Sources
Bakeries ka baap by Ashwini Gangal, Printed on 1 December 2008.
Round City: Having survived grabbing, betrayal, decoity over seven a long time, Dukkar Galli’s massively beloved Paris Bakery now anxious over air pollution curbs by Heena Khandelwal, Printed on 9 March 2025.
The Bread Bar Overview: This Cafe In Chembur Is All About Consolation Meals And Playful Vibes by Toshita Sahni, Printed on 10 June 2024.